Three Bermuda High School primary school students were so moved by a school assembly about local charities they decided to part with their most treasured possession – their hair.

Ten-year-olds Natalia Turkel, Alana Fischer and Emily Soares donated their ponytails to the American charity Locks of Love, which provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under the age of 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

"We did an assembly at school about charities, in general," said Emily and Natalia added: "They said when you grow up some of you might want to help with a charity."

But Emily and her friends decided they didn't want to wait until they were grown-up to help others.

"Alana told me that Emily and Natalia were cutting their hair," said Alana's mother, Melinda Fischer. "She said she felt bad about those poor children with cancer with no hair. It was probably about a week before she cut it off."

Mrs. Fischer said she had mixed emotions about her daughter cutting off her hair, which was down to her waist. She had never had a proper hair cut before, other than an occasional small trim.

But Mrs. Fischer admitted that sometimes having very long hair could be a nuisance.

"It was often a mass of knots in the morning and could take up to 45 minutes to brush out," she said. "She left it in a braid pretty much every day."

Mrs. Fischer said she once did some temporary work at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

"Many of the patients there are children with cancer," Mrs. Fischer said. "I wasn't there long enough to get to know any of them, but it definitely made me feel grateful to have healthy children."

The deed was done at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel's Willow Stream Spa, where each of the girls had their own stylist and in a symbolic act, their ponytails were removed at exactly the same time.

Alana's hair was cut to her shoulders. Natalia had 12 inches removed, and Emily donated 10 inches.

"It is a lot easier to take care of now," said Natalia. "It feels very different."

Emily's mother, Mrs. Soares said she hoped a child in need would get their hair before Christmas, or as a Christmas present.

Willow Stream donated the stylists' time, and also gave goodie bags to the girls. "A big thanks to the salon," said Mrs. Soares. "They made it special for the girls."

Bobbi Roper has been a stylist at Willow Stream for six years and she said: "I have done cuts for Locks of Love on a couple of occasions, but having three little girls donate their hair at the same time was exceptional."

She said Locks of Love requires that the donor has at least ten inches of braided hair. "They want virgin hair with no chemical processing," she said. "We braid it, and cut it just above the braid. Then we put it in tissue, and put it in a bag, and it is sent to Locks of Love."

She added: "They are little heroes. It is a massive thing for a little girl to do. I am so proud that they did it and that we participated."

Before donating their time, the spa approached Kenneth Ryan, director of golf and leisure operations at the hotel for permission.

Not only did he agree, he went home and told his five-year-old daughter, Kira, about it. "An act of love has become an act of inspiration," he said. "My daughter came back to me and said: 'daddy I want to donate my hair to someone who needs it too'.

"At five, her hair is not yet long enough, but she intends to grow it out and follow in the footsteps of these three girls."

Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses provide by the charity helps to restore children's self-esteem and confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.

The charity's mission is to return a sense of self-confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilising donated ponytails to provide hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children, who receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.

But Locks of Love needs the hair of at least six to ten different donors to make one hair prosthesis. For more information about Locks of love go to their website at http://www.locksoflove.org/.